The advertisement pre-dated Hogan's popularity in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee and thus were not initially seen as celebrity advertisements in the US, as he was relatively unknown in the United States (though well known in the UK through his long-running television comedy show), although the film somewhat increased the commercial's popularity.[1]

The advertisements were developed by the Australian agency Mojo in conjunction with American agency N.W. Ayer. The campaign was launched during the National Football Conference Championship Game in January 1984. Before the campaign, Australia was approximately number 78 on the "most desired" vacation destination list for Americans, but became number 7 three months after the launch, and soon became number 1 or 2 on Americans' "dream vacation" list, remaining in that position for most of the next two decades.[1]

"Barbie" is Australian slang for barbecue and the phrase "slip a shrimp on the barbie", for Americans, often evokes images of a fun social gathering under the sun. Australians, however, invariably use the word prawn rather than shrimp. Because the commercial was commissioned for broadcast in the United States, the change was made to limit audience confusion.[1][2]

Prawns are a popular traditional Christmas seafood in Australia.[3][4] However, crustaceans such as shrimp and prawns are less common, on average, in the Australian cuisine than in the United States. In the late 1980s, annual per capita consumption of shrimp stood at 1.3 kg in the United States, second only to Japan.[5]

In Australia, a variation on this phrase is commonly used, which is, "throw a prawn on the barbie". This variation of the phrase is correct Australian slang and is used and accepted by Australians.[6]